


"One Last Time"

by LunariaDeCielo



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Child Abuse, Claustrophobia, Denial - The Musical, Dissociation, Emotional Manipulation, Flashbacks, Gaslighting, Gen, God I gave this child so many breakdowns, Hallucinations, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Isolation, Manipulative Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Multiple panic attacks, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicidal Idolisation, Tommy is not having a Good Time™, TommyInnit Has PTSD (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit Whump (Video Blogging RPF), Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29675952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunariaDeCielo/pseuds/LunariaDeCielo
Summary: This is it. Tommy's last visit to the prison. He's finally about to have the conclusion to this never-ending nightmare. To finally have Dream out of his life.He takes a deep breath.He's here.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 18
Kudos: 290





	"One Last Time"

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! This One-Shot took me- SO LONG. Probably 5 hours in a row, not counting the 2h I took to write down every sentence said in the original stream. I don't think I've ever been this inspired in my entire life. But anyway- here we are! I'd like to give some trigger warning before we start. Be sure to read them, as well as the tags, and take care of yourself okay!
> 
> TW// Claustrophobia, Dissociation, Gaslighting, Mentions of past Child Abuse, Derealisation, Hallucinations, Suicidal Idolisation, Suicidal thoughts, Hints of stockholm syndrome, Conditionning... and that's about it! Be mindful of these warnings before you read this, alright? 
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoy!

He's here. After going through check-ups and passing through god knows how many security measures to ensure that he's not come with weapons or ways to free the prisoner (not that he'd ever do that, after what the fucker put him through), he's finally arrived. 

Dream's cell. 

He sees him, in his usual prison outfit, looking a bit more dirty and ragged than the last time he'd been here. It has been a month after all.

Strangely enough, despite the amount of hatred that burns through his veins, Tommy doesn't feel that satisfied, watching Dream look so… miserable. He doesn't feel joy, he just feels… bitterness. Anger, for sure, when is TommyInnit _not_ angry? But.. that is it. Perhaps it's a sign he's getting ready to move on. There's just one more step he needs to take before he's finally free. 

He hears Sam use the speakers to tell Tommy that he's going to lower the lava once again, and from then on, the cell will open. It'll be just him, and Dream. Tommy doesn't answer back, never taking his eyes off of Dream for a single second. 

_He's here. For one last time._

As he hears the molten liquid slowly fall behind him, and the "click" of the bars that slowly descend back into the ground, he takes a deep breath. He doesn't feel ready. Maybe he'll never be ready. Nevertheless, he's here. He takes notice of the obsidian, more specifically, the crying obsidian. He takes no more than a second to think about it, however. He has more pressing matters. 

Tommy takes a few steps into the cell. Taking another breath, he speaks, tone quiet and calm. 

"Hey.". It's not an overly familiar greeting, it's neutral, and the perfect way he wants it to be. Perhaps his tone may seem meek, and he could see his fingers were shaking, but that's neither here nor there. And Dream, even if he noticed (he always notices, he was there to watch Tommy after all.), doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he takes a few steps back, to allow more space for Tommy to walk in, and greets back, tone quiet and subdued. "Subdued". What a weird word to associate with the one person that's officially ruined Tommy's life more than anyone could ever.

"Hi." His tone is calm. Too calm. Calm is never good with Dream. Tommy would know. Memories of past experiences flash into his mind for a second, before he gets a grip back to himself. _He's not here. Dream can't do shit to him._

For a few seconds, it's just silent. Tommy hates silence. More than anything else in the world. Silence is never good. Silence is the calm before the storms, if you could even call it that. 

He swallows loudly. Tommy nods to Dream, careful to keep his body language as closed as possible. "What's up...Dream." he asks, making conversation, asking a mundane and useless question, not because he cares about Dream, anyone could tell he despises that fucker, but because the ringing silence makes him feel like ants are crawling over his body, his brain. So it's more of an attempt to get a sense of reality rather than anything else.

Dream looks around, shrugging slightly. (Tommy hates that any and every slight movement he makes makes him feel wary. _Scared._ ) "Nothing much…" he almost murmurs. After a few seconds of silence, he walks closer to the empty frame, which Tommy remembers is where a clock had stood. "I lost my clock since the last time you came." 

Tommy, like the TommyInnit he is, can't help but crack a nervous smile, thinking of something funny. "T-Take a word out of clock.. and you get another one. And it's… funny…" He murmurs, tone slowly getting more subdued and not as confident as it was when he started speaking. Not his best joke, he'll be honest. 

Dream seems to chuckle slightly. He can hear the slight smile in his voice when he says, "That's the Tommy I know." And Tommy absolutely despises how he says it. How it makes him feel like they're- familiar. _Friends._ They're not. They're _not._ (He's still trying to convince his mind that.)

Tommy takes another deep breath, feeling like somehow that small talk had taken the breath out of him, even though he's spoken only a few sentences. Out of habit, he brushes his fingers over his windpipe slightly, before being aware or what he's doing. He hates how nervous he is. "Dream, this is um…" he cuts himself off, feeling himself choke at the stare Dream is giving him. Silently. Observing. _Watching._ **_Always fucking watching him._ **It sends shivers all over him. He hates it.

Having the courage to speak once again after a few seconds of silence, he says, a bit more confidently, "Dream, I'm, um…" and doesn't finish his sentence. _He can't. Why can't he?_ This should be easy. He prepared himself for this. So why-

A voice interrupts whatever he was about to say next. "I'm glad you came to visit me Tommy, it's been a while since your last visit." The green man says, walking a bit closer towards Tommy, making him tense. He speaks the next words, almost with a shy tone, "I-I wish you'd visit me more." And Tommy- 

He takes another breath, preparing to speak. "Dream, this is the-" but gets interrupted. _Again._ Dream is now pacing around the room, walking closer to the frame, before taking a few steps towards Tommy. In return, the blond takes a few steps back, feeling the heat of the lava closer to his back. 

"You know- I haven't had company in so long, this just makes me really happy!" Dream has his arms open, almost as if he was about to engulf him into a bear hug. 

Tommy hates this. He hates how fucking scared he feels, how he feels like he can't speak when Dream interrupts him. How he interrupts him. How he feels like Dream somehow has the power of this conversation, even though he _shouldn't_. 

He's sick of this. "Dream." He interrupts the man this time, taking back the lead of the conversation back again. He's not in power here, _Tommy_ is. Even if he feels like he isn't.

He stumbles across his words, not making much sense. "I hate th- This is…" he takes another deep breath, calming himself. He looks Dream straight in the eyes, finding back the confidence he's finally recovered, weeks after his exile, after Doomsday. 

"This is my last visit Dream." He says. His words echo throughout the room, the ringing silence taking over it. He feels his confidence slowly fade away, the more the silence continues. It's painful. He wants nothing but to run away, to return back to his hotel, speak to Sam Nook again, maybe have some fun with Tubbo and Jack Manifold- but he can't. He needs to do this. He needs closure. _He needs this never ending cycle of pain to end, or else he might lose his mind._

Dream speaks up, quiet. "Like- ever?" And Tommy nods cautiously, not wanting to know what he'd say next. Sam might be near, but who knows how many seconds it'll take before the potions of harming take effect if Dream were to attempt something. _Who knows what kind of damage he could do before it does?_

"I- yeah. This is my last visit. My last time… seeing you." He winces at his own words, knowing what they entail. He's not enjoying the silence of this room, the only other sounds being the quiet sound of machines and the lava bubbling behind him. He doesn't want to know what Dream is about to do. 

One thing he hates about being Dream, mostly out of anything else in the long list of things he hates when Dream is near, is how he can't seem to enunciate his words correctly. He stutters, he's not his usual confident self. And he despises it the most. Because it shows how much power Dream still holds over him. 

_But not for long._ Tommy is about to be done.

"In like- forever?" Dream asks, gesturing his arms at nothing. Almost in a desperate attempt to deny the truth. 

"Yeah." Tommy says. He repeats the word, more confidently. "Yeah! Yeah, I think so." And yet still ends it as if it could be negotiable. It's not. But he can't help it. There's still something in him that doesn't want to disappoint Dream, to displease him.

Dream's body slumps over a bit, as if disappointed. Tommy tenses in instinct. He knows what happens when Dream is disappointed in him. _The scars are proof._

But he only talks. _Just like he got into his mind. By talking._ Talking seems to be Dream's best skill after PvP it seems. "Well- forever seems like a long time, y'know…" he trails off, as if hoping Tommy would agree to anything else. 

He doesn't. He passes a hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact with Dream's mask. The smile that still haunts his nightmares. "Well- I just…" he trails off, walking towards the right corner of the cell, towards what seems to be a hole filled with water. 

He takes another deep breath. Funny how oxygen seems to be the boost for his confidence, huh. "Dream, this is my last time visiting you." He re-affirms. He ignores the way his voice cracked at the words "last time". Because it is his last time. He won't accept otherwise. Nothing can stop him from leaving and never coming back. 

Yeah… yeah! There's nothing Dream can do to stop him, he's stuck in a cell! With a more confident smile on his lips, straightening his body posture, he repeats. "This is my last time visiting you. So if you have anything to say to me, you have to say it _now_. 'Cause I'm not going to see you again."

At first, Dream says nothing. He just stares at Tommy, nervous Tommy, Tommy who seems to have found more confidence in himself to talk to him. Imposing him a choice. He hums quietly. The next question he asks makes Tommy almost collapse on himself out of disbelief. 

"...Why?" 

Why. 

_Why_.

Such a simple question. A simple words. The meaning of it completely baffles Tommy. Why. _Why? Is this fucker, the one who manipulated Tommy, abused him emotionally and physically, the one who ruined him, almost to the point of suicide, really asking_ **_why_ ** _Tommy doesn't want to ever see him ever in his entire life?_

This has to be a joke. 

He splutters, "Wh- you- fucking... What the- what the fuck- 'Why'? Dream. You fucking- ruined my life!" He exclaims, waving his arms as if proving a point. Perhaps the fading scars _are_ proof. "And you're really asking me-" Tommy passes a hand over his face. He cannot believe the nonsense that he's hearing. Why. _Why_ he asks. 

He looks at Dream, tired. Tired of his bullshit. Tired of his lies, his manipulation- of _everything._ "You had this coming, y'know." 

To his surprise, Dream nods. "Yeah." He says. Tommy doesn't feel satisfied. Instead, he just feels angry. At how easy he agrees. How he knows, no matter what he says, that he's not regretted a single thing he's done. 

He steps closer to the older man, burning with anger. "You've had this coming." He re-affirms. "I'm not gonna _pity_ you. You've had all of this shit coming." 

If Tommy could see his face, Dream would probably be frowning in displease. The tone of his voice is frustrated, almost upset. "I _did._ " He just sounds like a child who'd been put in the corner for something bad he did. Not a criminal in prison. 

The lava hums at the entrance of the prison. Water drips from the crying obsidian in the room. Silence. 

"But… y'know. Maybe _one day._ " And Tommy cannot believe what he's hearing. One day. One day? No. _No._ **_Fuck no._ ** Tommy would rather _die_ than have this fucker anywhere out of this prison, anywhere near _him_ ever again. 

Tommy takes a few steps back. "...No- have you seen the prison? It's kinda- the most secure thing ever. You're not- you're not leaving here." He walks closer to the lava. Away from Dream. They now stand opposite to each other in this room. 

Dream just hums. In the same way that just oozes of "I-don't-agree-with-you, and-I-know-you're-wrong, but-I'm-just-gonna-hum-to-appear-neutral." Kind of way. He says, tone sly and filled with _something_ that makes Tommy extremely uncomfortable. "I'm just saying, maybe one day. Maybe eventually, I'll walk out of here." He suggests, while stepping closer to the blond. 

Isn't it funny, how despite not being the prisoner, Tommy still feels trapped? 

"No- I don't-" he gets interrupted. _Again._ **_Always._ **He still doesn't have the lead of this conversation. 

"I feel I've been changing… since I came here." And it's the most _bullshit_ he's ever heard come from Dream. Well- no it isn't, but he knows when he's lying. At least, he likes to think he does. He's assumed he was speaking the truth for so long, that now knowing it was all a lie, feels like everything that comes out of that snake's mouth is a lie. Point is, he's lying. He hasn't changed at all. Tommy can tell, just from the way they're speaking right now. 

Tommy decides to change the subject. "This is my last time here." He repeats, again, feeling like maybe if he just says it more, it would ring truer, and maybe Dream would come to accept it as well, and not try to persuade him otherwise. "I'm not- I don't wanna come here again."

The older one almost whines, "..But _why_?" As if it wasn't clear already. Tommy is sick of this game. The older makes him feel like he has to doubt everything he says, that he has to justify everything he says and does. 

"But why?" Tommy repeats, stuttering in shock. "It's like- Listen, I'm not doing this whole, "You're all sad, we're all happy" shit- This is-" he trails off, looking around in distress. He hates it. He hates it all. He hates the familiarity of the situation, the way Dream questions him and makes him feel like he's in the wrong. He's _not._ Is he?

Tommy groans, as if pained. He puts his head in his hands, focusing on just breathing for now. He mumbles, voice muffled by his hands, "You- Dream this is really hard- See, what you're doing now, this is- This is like _exile_." And he doesn't want to remember exile. Exile was a terrible place, a terrible period of nothing but misery, something that still affects him to this day, even months after. 

He feels bitter. Bitter that Dream still hasn't changed. Not that he had expected him to, but he hates how the man still has the power to use the exact same methods, and still make the younger feel like he's in the wrong. _Maybe coming here was a mistake._

No-. No. He had not come here to make amends. He wants closure. And he's not going to let Dream stop that. 

He looks straight at Dream, face scrunched up in phantom pain. A bitter look on his face. "Do you remember that? Do you?" Tommy does. He could never forget. _He can never forget. Exile follows him everywhere. From when he is asleep, to when he is awake._ "This is just like exile. All over again." 

Silence, once again. They just stare at each other, at opposite sides of the cell. The tension could almost be cut with a knife. Tommy continues, unsure of what to say next. Dream always destabilises him like that. "I don't wanna- you know-" and Dream interrupts him- _again._ He's starting to really want to punch him in the face. Maybe have a couple kicks here and there. 

Dream seems to fidget a bit, body facing another way, evasive. "I mean, exile- it wasn't... too bad." 

And- Tommy cannot believe what Dream had just said to his face. Exile… wasn't too bad? Is he fucking with him? He has to be, right? There's no way he heard what he thinks he just heard. He wouldn't _dare_ , would he? 

(If exile wasn't too bad… what would Dream consider _bad_ ? ~~Tommy fears to know.~~ )

Rage fills his veins. Tommy knows what he's doing. He's trying to manipulate him all over again. He won't let him. _He won't._ He screams at the older man, "I- You bastard! You threw my shit into a hole, I can't go near plane biomes now without getting all _trembly in the fingers!_ " He shouts, gesturing at his shaking hands. Just thinking about it made Tommy feel faint. He remembers. The last time he had, he had a massive panic attack, feeling so overwhelmed that he'd just fainted. Then his brain felt like it was splitting in half, hating and yet somehow _missing_ Dream. He felt disgusted with himself. How pathetic could he be, missing his abuser? 

No more. No more of that. "It was fucked- what you did- **YOU'RE fucked**!" He exclaims one last time, breathing heavily. All his anger draining the fight out of him. God, he's so tired. He doesn't wanna do this anymore. 

He just breathes for a minute. And Dream watches him, silent. Slowly, he gestures towards the chest. "I- where are the books, that I asked you to write?" Desperately wanting to change the subject. 

Dream shrugs. "I burned them." He says, casually. Tommy couldn't care any less, frankly. He had given the books in a moment where Dream still had a lot more power over him than he does now. It was done in a moment where he was still unsure whether he would visit him more, or not. More of a bargain and false promise than anything else. 

He walks over the chest, careful to stay away from Dream as much as possible. Inside the chest, are books. A lot of books. More than he had anticipated. He randomly picks one of them, named "Thank you ". Inside reads, "Thank you for visiting me, BadBoyHalo." 

Tommy raises an eyebrow, feeling a lot more calm and slightly curious at the book. "BBH came to visit, huh." He looks towards the man, who seem to perk up, ever so slightly. (Is he so desperate to have someone to visit him? Is he that lonely? ~~Just like Tommy was in exile?~~ )

Dream nods slightly eagerly, tone more joyful and excited. "Y-Yeah! It was a really nice visit y'know, he also told me about the Egg that seems to be growing on the server. Not a lot though. We had a really nice discussion. The egg definitely sounds like it grew a lot more than the last time I saw-" he rambles on and on and Tommy- 

Tommy hold a hand out, interrupting him. He ignores the slight fear of knowing that he interrupted _Dream, is he crazy?!_ "Look-" he says, irritated. He has not come here to gossip. He just wants to leave. He just wants this to be over.

"I- no. I'm not here to gossip with you man. Listen. When I'm around you my brain feels like I'm fucking _conditionned_ to be your friend. But also when I have a knife, I just want to plunge it into your heart, it's like I don't-" he takes a deep breath, feeling slightly exhausted from his rant. His brain feels like it's splitting apart. He hates it. He hates how Dream makes him feel. 

He takes a few steps back, looking straight towards Dream, tired of his bullshit. "You don't make me a good person- you make me bad Dream, all the shit that's happened has happened because of you. And I'm moving on to bigger and better things now. Bitch. So- I'm- I'm done! I'm done." He says, tone final. He doesn't want to deal with Dream anymore. He doesn't want to know him, doesn't want him in his life. He just wants to be happy for once, without having nightmares and hallucinations plagued by the same haunting smile in his life. 

Dream gets closer, body hunched towards him, almost desperate. "Well- what if you,visit like, once a month or something.." but Tommy is done. He's _done._

"...No. No! This isn't up to negotiation Dream. I don't wanna know you in my life anymore. This is done! Alright? 'Cause you ruined- You ruined L'Manberg, you ruined... You ruined-!" Me. It goes unsaid. But it's heard loud and clear. "You almost killed TUBBO!" He exclaims instead, not over what the man had done. He'll never forget the way his best friend was about to be killed, how he had accepted death _just like Tommy had in exile. His expression of bitter acceptance. Tommy could never forget it._

A familiar anger- no. _Rage_ goes through him. He steps closer to Dream, almost like he's about to throttle him, gritting his teeth together. Man, how he wants to. But he's better than that. Better than _him._

"You- tried killing me, you tried-! You tried killing everyone! You've tried hurting people's loved ones! And I'm fucking sick of it. I don't need to go through any of this stress anymore." He says, tired. He's tired of this shit. "'Cause this is ME doing this to ME now. Not you. You're locked up now, you can't hurt me anymore. I'm the one that's giving me the stress." Getting face to face to Dream, almost centimeters apart. Uncaring of what could happen next. _He's_ the one in charge now. 

He learns towards Dream's mask, threatening. "But I'm better than that. I'm better than _you_." He says, as he takes a few steps back. Walking closer to the lava, preparing to leave soon. 

He takes a deep breath. He turns around, and looks at Dream. The man, who was so threatening before, now miserable and alone in a tiny cell. He feels nothing towards him. "So I'm done here. _You may have ruined my past Dream, but you will not ruin my future_." 

He'd said it. He finally said it. After so long, agonizing over the words he wanted to say, he'd finally done it. If he'll be honest, he sounded really fucking cool just now. God. What a god he is. 

The older man of the two walks towards him, an arm extended almost in plea. "I- Tommy- I'm trying, trying to change, to be better and not- be the same person I was, and you- this isn't... You can visit me- every now and then... right? It'll help! It'll help." He is but a few steps away from him now, looking at him, tone pleading. Almost begging.

And Tommy… Tommy can't even pity him. Not after what he'd done. All he feels is disgust. It's a sad sight to see, a once powerful man now reduced to a poor state of what he was before. 

...Who is he kidding, that's the best fucking thing he's ever seen. 

Dream continues talking, as if thinking it'll make Tommy hesitate. "It'll help… making me better."

Tommy just looks at him. And says the following words. "Fuck off mate." And _man._ How liberating that feels. He looks at the man before him, and just sighs. He feels tired. Who knew, going against your past abuser would be so _exhausting_?

He looks at Dream, smirking almost in victory at the sight. "You're pathetic. And you lost. _Bitch_ ." He says, accuenting the "bitch" with a jab at the chest with his finger. _God he's so cool._

Tommy smiles. He smiles, knowing he's leaving, that soon, he'll be free, and there's _nothing_ the other could do about it. He takes a deep breath. Unlike a few moments before, whereas he felt trapped in his own skin, this breath felt liberating. "I'm done here." And that's that. 

"...Forever?" The man still asks, despite knowing what he'll say next. It's honestly just sad at this point. Well. Sad in a way that is more pathetic than anything else. 

Tommy nods, turning around. "This is it. Goodbye Dream. It wasn't an honor knowing you, but it'll be an honor forgetting you." And as he prepares to call for Sam… That's when it happened.

**_B o o m ._ **

Explosions. 

Unprepared for the shock that goes through him, as well as the tremor that goes through the prison cell, Tommy falls to his knees, eyes almost unseeing. Behind him, Dream, almost just as shocked, leans on a wall in an effort to not fall down. 

Tommy's heart pounds in his chest. Badum. Badum. Baudm. _Badum. Badum_ . **_Badum. BadumBadumBadumBadumBadum-_ **

The sound revebrates throughout the room. **_Boom. Boom. BOOM. BOOM._ **It echoes and almost synchronises with his own heartbeat. 

Everything is loud. The sound of explosions, the sound of water dripping from the crying obsidian, from the bathroom, the lava (he remembers the days he'd stare longingly at the lava. These were not good days. ~~He fears looking at it in such a way again~~ .) is too loud, his own irregular breathing is too loud, the silence, it's all so _loud, everything is so loud, God let me out let me out let me out-_

And then it stopped. And the both of them stood, silent in shock. 

Desperate to not let the silence win over his own mind, and the panic from the situation he's currently in making him babble nonsense, Tommy speaks. He speaks fast, loudly, and high-pitched, a ( ~~coping mechanism~~ ) habit he's had his entire life. Everyone always complained he was too loud, that he talked too much. But Tommy could not endure the silence. _The static that slowly ate away his mind_. He could not let it win. 

So nervously, he stammers, "Wh-What the fuck was tha- Dream what the hell was that sound?!" A stupid question, honestly. A bait, more than anything. Tommy knows what that sound was. He's familiar with it. A sound he's heard over and over and over again. A sound that only promises destruction and misery. (He remembers L'manberg. He remembers Exile. He remembers Doomsday. Explosions fill his mind, phantom pain and white flashes across his vision. The smell of smoke fills his nose. He hates it.)

Dream hums. "Mhmm. Sounded like TNT to me.", seemingly casual, completely relaxed in this situation. Of course he would be, why wouldn't he? He's probably enjoying this. It would definitely be the second next more entertaining thing in his isolation to ever happen, after people visiting him. 

And then it happened again. Explosions. Explosions, continuous and never-ending. Boom. Boom. _Boom. Boom_ . **_Boom. BOOM. BOOM. BOOMBOOMBOOM-_ **

Tommy's breath hitches. Everything around his sharpens, yet muddles together at the same time. His mind feels like it's being split apart. It's happening again. It's happening again- everything is going to get destroyed, he's going to be killed _again, Dream is going to hurt him and blow his stuff again, but he's his only fr-_

Tommy catches himself before he can think it. Don't say it. _Don't say it_ . **_Don't think about it._ **

He's not there. He's not in exile. _He's never going to be in exile, ever again._

The only problem is that he's in a cell. A cell with _Dream._ Alone. And explosions had just gone off near the prison. Dare he say- _in the prison._

This place isn't safe. Tommy's already sweating in fear, the paranoia already settling over his mind, his fight-or-flight instinct going off. But there's nothing to fight. Except maybe Dream. But Tommy's not that low.

...There's honestly no reason to stay here. He could call for Sam, get out of here, away from the explosions, away from Dream, and never come back. He's certainly not staying in a prison that could potentially be blown up. So that's exactly what he does. 

"I'm out." He declares, leaving no room to say otherwise, finally standing up on shaky legs. Screaming, shouting at the top of his lungs, he calls out, "SAAAM!!! SAM!!" And one would think his throat would hurt after shouting so loudly, but this is the norme for Tommy. 

  
  


...Silence. No sound of the bars coming up once again, no sound of the speaker clicking and Sam's voice speaking through it. No sound of the lava being drained, or the bridge slowly appearing. 

Silence. Ear-rigging, stifling and suffocating silence. 

It's in these moments that he's reminded why he absolutely despises silence. The pressure that cages him in his own body, his own mind, could be comparable to the weight of a thousand anvils on top of him. He nervously looks around the prison, waiting for a sign- _anything_ to happen. 

_Why isn't anything happening? Why isn't Sam answering? He wouldn't leave him here… right?_

The echo of the explosions ringing through his mind, and Tommy desperate to just _get out of here_ , he howls out another call to the Warden of the prison. "SAM!!!" He cries out for help, he _pleads_ for help. And in return, gets no answer. 

**_Boom._ **

Another explosion. This time more violent, so intense that the walls of the cell are shaking, the crying obsidian almost twinkling in return, its texture would make one think the explosions had cracked the walls, and are about to collapse and break from the impact of the multiple explosions.

It does nothing to ease Tommy's anxiety. No, in fact, it completely skyrockets to the moon, going higher each explosion that goes off. _Boom. Boom._ **_Boom. B O O M._ **The explosions go faster. Get more powerful as each second passes. 

And Tommy… Tommy… Where… is he? He's supposed to be in the prison right? Is he in the prison? Everything feels so… distant. Empty. Calm? No. Not quite. 

He feels like he's floating. An intruder in his own body. Is he even in his own body? He knows his eyes are looking… somewhere. Everything is purple around him. Purple… Dark purple. That means obsidian right? So he's still in the prison. 

Logically, Tommy knows he's in the prison. He can see the obsidian, the lava, and knows Dream is also here. But everything feels… so far away. Wrong. He smells gunpowder. Sounds of arrows firing in the sky sound throughout his mind. He's rewatching every tragedy that's ever happened around him in slow-motion. ~~It's all your fault it's all your fault you are the reason this is happening~~

The taste of ashes feels so real against his tongue. The saltiness of the sea brings tears to his eyes. He feels the heat of explosions against his own skin. Soothing words that do nothing but cut away his own heart, the heat of the lava beacons him to get closer-

_What… is happening?_

Tommy… disconnects from reality. He doesn't know how long he stares at the void, but when he finally feels like he's in his own body again, the explosions have stopped.

And then there's silence. The explosions have finally stopped ringing. ~~They still echo in Tommy's mind, but that's alright.~~ There's no smell of smoke and gunpowder in his nose anymore. No retching smell of blood. No familiar sparkles and explosion of fireworks.

It stopped. And Tommy can finally get a grip on himself. He pushes his nails into his palm, desperate to forget the weird out of body experience he's just had, and trying to ground himself.

Breathing shaky and irregular, Tommy asks the single question that's been running through his mind. "What the f- What the fuck was that?" He asks, not expecting an answer when he does get one, having forgotten where he was, and _who_ he was with. 

Dream. He seems completely unfazed by the many explosions that just went inside the prison. Humming, he just said, "Sounds like TNT! Blowing up." Popping out the "p" of up. 

Panic fills Tommy's entire body. If that was TNT… Then- "Why is there TNT- wh-" he stutters, losing control of himself. He's not in control. _He's not in control._

He needs to get out. Why hasn't Sam come up to pick him up yet? What is he doing?! 

Dream, walking closer to Tommy, standing almost next to him, just shrugs. "I dunno. Sounds like a security issue." And he sounds so… _pleased._ He would be, wouldn't he. This could be an opportunity for him to escape this cell, so he must be enjoying this. The absolute miserable state it'd instantly put Tommy through is probably even more enjoyable to him as well, the _bastard._

No time to think about Dream, _he needs to get out._ Screaming even louder than he had before, "S-Sam! I'm ready to LEAVE. WE'RE DONE. NOW GET ME THE _HELL OUT OF HERE!_ " He shouts for help. For _anything._

But once again. No one answers. And more explosions reverberate through the prison. He can see the lava shaking. _This one was bad._ Tommy had almost fallen down once again, but _Dream_ had helped him steady himself. _He hates it. He absolutely despises the feeling of Dream touching him. It brings nothing but bad memories._ (They would stay memories. They won't be anything more than that. Tommy will make sure of it.)

He jerks himself away from Dream, distancing himself as far as he can from the other man. He can't stand him. _He can't stand being near him._ And that's why he needs to get o-

**_Boom. Boom. B O O M. BOOM- BOOMBOOMBOOM-_ **

Everything seems like it's shattering around Tommy. The ground is shaking, the walls are shaking, _HE'S shaking_ , and nothing seems like it could be scarier than that. He looks at the ceiling in an empty daze, from where the sounds seem to be coming from. He's pretty sure he's having a panic attack, breathing way too shallow and irregular to be normal. Nothing feels safe anymore. And despite how much he hates associating the word safe with the man he despises the most, he knows he will get no answer if he asks Sam. _Sam who isn't even here, having gone off to do whatever the hell he's doing._

So he turns to the only one he can question, and speak to for the moment. _Dream._ He sends the man a look of terror and confusion. But the man associated with toxic green only shrugs, murmuring a calm, "I have no idea.", in a 'Don't look at me, I'm as clueless as you' type of way. 

Tommy's pretty sure he's lying. But the ringing explosions that continue on and on and on and _on_ , keep him from questioning anything too deeply, lost in his own mind once again. He can't stay here. _He can't._

_He needs to get out._

He rushes towards the lava, almost throwing himself across the wall of boiling liquid in an attempt to escape this place. There's no intent of actually dying, ~~although the idea does flash quickly in his head~~ ~~,~~ there's nothing but panic. The primal need to flee. To escape.

He screams, strains his throat even more than the last god knows how many times he'd called for help, "SAM!!! SAM GET ME OUT OF HERE!" And once again, no one answers. 

This time, he takes out his own communicator. Not his personal one, but one Sam had handed to him, in which a case of extreme emergency were to occur, where screaming at the top of his lungs would not work, to be able to contact him somehow. There is no other contact on it either. 

In his panic, he doesn't even bother to check any typos, or to even be coherent in his words. He just needs Sam to get his emergency need to _escape._ He just needs to get out of here, that's all he's asking for. 

  
  


_____________________________________

**TommyInnit**

_Sam_

_SAM?!?!_

_SAM GETE ME OIT OFHERE_

_SAM PMEASE I CANT STAY HERE PMEZSE_

_____________________________________

But no answer comes. He stays there, staring at his communicator, hoping, _desperately_ hoping that he would. 

He doesn't. Tommy's last hope crashes before his very eyes. But he still tries. He tries again. And he will continue to do so until he is OUT OF THIS PRISON ONCE AND FOR ALL. 

So he screams. At first, he only murmurs a quiet, vulnerable "Sam…?" In a small hope that he could hear him. And _then_ he started screaming. "SAM?!?! SAM! I WANT TO LEAVE, I AM DONE HERE-"

A voice that he'd forgotten in his panic cuts off anything else he would have said. "TOMMY." The tone is one of authority, one that demands respect and silence. How dare he. He had _no right-_ "He didn't hear you the first ten times Tommy! He's not there!" He exclaims, seemingly done with Tommy's attempt to get the warden. 

Tommy's heart plummets to his stomach. 

But Tommy denies it. _He refuses._ "Wh-what the fuck d'you mean he's not here?! He- he's supposed to be here! He'd said- said he'd be here- he can't- He can't be gone!" He tries to reason, despite knowing somewhere deep inside of him, that it's a lost cause. He's not giving up. He's not giving up until nothing is left for him to fight for. 

Silence. 

He looks at Dream, gaze serious and threatening. He _will_ get an answer and he _will_ get out of this fucking cell, even if it's the goddamn last thing he _does_ . "What the _fuck_ is going on." 

And just as he says that, more TNT goes off. The same echo of BOOM. BOOM. _BOOM. BOOM. BOOM._ **_BOOM._ **

A sentence that's haunted his nightmares for months flashes in his own mind. 

_"It was never meant to be."_

When he looks back at the lava, so _enticing and inviting-_ he sees Wilbur. Wilbur, smiling his sunny smile, a smile that used to be a beacon of light in times of despair- 

Red. There's a lot of red. Red strains his beanie, his dark brown cloak, his lips, his fingers- and most of all, his heart. Wearing his usual yellow sweatshirt, in the place where his heart used to be… Is a hole. A hole… in the shape of a sword. Blood drips out of it. And on the floor. 

He stares down at his own hands. There's blood… on Tommy's hands. 

Tommy blinks, and just like that- it's gone. He looks up from his hand. There is nothing but obsidian and lava that greets him back. _Wilbur was never there._ (Of course he wasn't, he's _dead._ Been dead for a long time. Tommy knows this. ….so why does it still hurt so much?)

"What the fuck…" He's seeing shit. _He's seeing shit just like he did in exile._ This is not good. This place is fucking with Tommy's mind in a way he did not miss. He wants out. _Now._

The TNT finally finishes blowing up. And next to him, someone hums. Tommy startles, not having expected Dream to be this close to him. (He hates how he almost wants to apologise for- for what. Existing? He doesn't know.)

Tommy looks at him, confused and angry. Why the fuck is he so calm about this?! "What- What. What the fuck do you mean, 'Mhm'!?" He exclaims, not liking the way Dream is showing confidence once again. (And how Tommy feels so vulnerable.) 

"Well. This is interesting." Is all he says. Anxiety fills Tommy's guts. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like this, _at all._

"...What do you mean it's-" he's about to question, but gets cut off- _again._ Dream has gotten back his confidence. Or perhaps he had never lost it in the first place. Maybe he's always been in power. 

...No. No. Tommy isn't about to let him get into his head like that. Not again. Never again. 

Dream gestures to the ceiling, almost in glee. "There's tnt exploding! That sounds like a security problem." There's something smug in that tone, and Tommy absolutely despises it. He knows something. _He knows what's going on._

Desperate to get out of here, he shouts out to Sam once again. He _needs to get out._ "Let me- Let me out! SAM! SAM!!" He shouts , letting out a guttural scream of frustration. He's not about to get stuck with Dream in a tiny cell- _he refuses._

And Dream, like the bitch he is, just laughs quietly, this irritating, amused laugh. "T-Tommy, stop! He's not _there_ ." He crosses his arms, looking at the blond in what he assumes is amusement. _The bitch._

Tommy doesn't listen to Dream. He tries again, only shouting louder. "Let- me the _fuck_ o-" he gets cut off. Not by Dream this time, but-

**_BOOM_ ** _._

More explosions.

_Tommy can't fucking handle the back and forth of panicking at the sound of explosions, calming down and then repeat- he can't. He_ **_can't_ **. He needs to get out before this place drives him insane. 

The next seconds are a blur. Tommy doesn't want to remember anything that happened. He only knows that the next time he blinks, he's only centimeters from the lava. 

He speaks to no one, when he says, "What the fuck is going on." a question more aimed at the void than anything else. 

Dream answers anyway. "I don't know. I don't more than you do." And if that's just not a flat out lie, TommyInnit's name is not TommyInnit.

He turns to Dream. The other seems completely calm. Relaxed. Nothing seems like it could ever bother him. Meanwhile Tommy's on the verge of what could be his fourth panic attack, hyperventilating, and overall feeling like shit. 

What a situation they're in. 

  
  


He asks, his entire mind filled with explosions and words of poison being fed to him- "Why is Sam not coming?" His tone is broken. 

  
  


Dream answers. "Well Tommy, he's probably dealing with whatever security issue they're having! Explosions like that sounds like a big problem to me" he talks to him, in this familiar tone of frustration, yet soothing one, like he's dealing with a fucking child that needs explaining because he's _wrong_.

And continues speaking, body turned towards him fully, almost smug. "But of course, you'd be familiar with them, wouldn't you." He knows exactly which button to push to get under Tommy's skin. But he won't give it to him. He's better than that. Better than him. ~~Right?~~

So he doesn't answer. He lets the other talk, knowing he's in the right. "I mean. You did blow up the community house." And-

What the fuck. Tommy looks at Dream in disbelief. He did not just hear that come out of the other's mouth. He- 

Rage fills his mind, as he growls towards Dream, almost feral. "I did not _fucking_ blow up the community house, don't try to pin this on me again you bitch! You know as well as I do that _you_ did it, not me. You admitted it in front of everyone!" 

Tommy doesn't understand. Maybe before, when he accused him of blowing up the community house, he was trying to get everyone to gang up on him, and hate him. As much as he fucking despises it, he can understand _why_ he did it. 

So why is he trying to put it on him again? When there's literally _not a soul_ to believe him? What is he trying to do? Tommy doesn't know. And that frustrates him. He never knows what Dream wants. Even to please him.

"No no no, Tommy, _you_ made me say that _I_ did it. But that's not what happened at all. And you know it." He tuts, walking closer towards the younger one. His tone is final, almost as if he'd just won the argument. Like he knows he's right, despite the fact that he's _not_.

Tommy walks the furthest he can from him, shaking his head. "No. No- I'm not gonna play this game with you. I said I was done, and I mean it. I know what you're doing, and I won't let you manipulate me again!"

The seeds of doubt have already been planted in his mind, and if there's one thing he will not let Dream do, is make him doubt his own memories. Those are the only things he has left that he can't harm, _he won't let him have them._

He goes back to the lava, screaming for Sam once again. Desperate to have the other answer him- to _finally_ get out of this place.

Nothing works. His mind is working on overdrive at this point.

Tommy, frantically trying to find something, _anything_ that could alert Sam that he wants to get out, paces around the room. "Let me out. Tell Sam to let me out. Do you have an emergency button or something-" he says, knowing that there's no way a prisoner would have that. Why would he? No one would care if he died. ~~Would someone care if Tommy were to die?~~

Dream just looks at him, carefully picking out his next words. Tommy just feels more panic. "Sam.... Is dealing with the security issue." He concludes. Tommy stops his frantic search of the chest, and turns to look at him, terror clear in his eyes. ~~Dream revels in it.~~

"What does that _mean._ " Tommy presses, wanting answers. If he's not getting out now, then _when_ is he going to get out? In a few minutes? Hours…? Tommy doesn't want to know. But he _has_ to. 

Dream gestures at nothing, one arm under his bicep, supporting the other that's near his face. "It means that you could be stuck here for a little bit."

And Tommy- Tommy can't- no. There's no way. Sam wouldn't leave him with _him_ right? "No." He whispers, almost brokenly. The next sentence Dream says, the blond knows he's smiling. 

"Maybe… even days." He purposely trails off, letting the words hang over his head.

Tommy shakes his head in denial, stumbling back. " _No._ " He just says. Because what else could he say? There's no way. He cannot stay here for a- a "few days"- Tommy- he can't.

"No. Close the gates, I want to leave NOW-" he screams in agony, desperately asking for help over and over again. It doesn't matter how many times he has to, Tommy will continue to shout until he spits out _blood._

Dream tries to interrupt by calling his name, but he _won't_ let him. He continues to scream for Sam. Until he feels a hand clasp around his wrist. And everything goes still. Tommy can't- he-

Dream's voice echoed in his mind. "Tommy, i know you signed the book, because _I'm_ the one who wrote it."

The teen slowly looks at Dream, terror filling his guts. He carefully takes his hand away from the other, stumbling back, feeling the heat of the lava. "Wh-Why are you bringing up the books now?" He asks, terrified of the answer. 

"Don't you remember? The books you signed said that if there was to be a security issue, you could stay here up to a week." 

A... week? No. No. It can't be. Tommy can't be here for a week. He can't stand this fucking bastard. This visit's goal had been to have closure, to finally have him out of his life, out of his nightmares, out of his mind. And now... he learns that he's probably going to be stuck here, in a tiny cell, with no means to escape, to defend himself, _defenceless, for 7 days- an entire week at most!?_

Tommy can't. He can't. The twenty(? He can't tell anymore) minutes he'd already spent with the older man had already brought him to his limits. 

(It had only taken Dream 2 weeks to break Tommy almost entirely. He'd done it once. What could possibly stop him from doing it again, now that he knows literally nothing can, and will stop him?)

He tries calling out for Sam again. In hopes of anything. For a reassurance that everything is fine, everything will be fine, that he's not going to be stuck here for a _fucking week, god please don't let him stay here, in this tiny ass room, with_ **_DREAM_ ** . He screams until his throat is raw and numb. He calls many names. Sam, Sam Nook, Tubbo, Philza Minecraft, Puffy, Technoblade, Ranboo, _BadBoyHalo, Quackity, Punz, Puffy, Jack Manifold, Niki,_ **_PunkSkeppyPurpledWILBURPLEASEANYONE-_ **

He calls out. Over. And over. And over. And over again. Until his vision is blurry from exhaustion. Until his throat feels like it's bleeding. Until his legs become so shaky from the terror that he hasn't realised he'd collapsed on the floor. Until his entire body becomes limp. He calls out.

  
  
  


No one answers. 

  
  
  
  


And the explosions start again. 

_Boom. Boom._ **_Boom. BOOM._ **

Tommy's entire body flinches, but he stays on the ground, completely disconnected from reality. He thinks he hears Dream call out to him in concern. (Heh. Concern. As if.) But everything is just so… far… away.

It may have taken minutes for them to end. Or perhaps seconds. Tommy just slowly gets to his feet, feeling almost defeated, but refusing to accept what's going on. He looks at Dream in horror. The latter only gestures to the ceiling, back to the back of the cell, leaning against the obsidian wall. 

"That sounded like a security issue to me, I don't. I don't know if you agree but-" Tommy can't hear any of this anymore. Fuck this. _Fuck. This._ Fuck the security issues, he wants OUT. 

He shakes his head in denial, determined to find a way to get out. "What The Fuck. Let me out. I can't be here for a week, I can- I have my hotel to run, I need to go and spend time with- with m-my pals man, I'm getting back on t- No no no no no, let-me-out." He grips in hair, feeling a breakdown almost seconds away- but he can't break down here. Anywhere else is fine. _Anywhere else would be better than here. Even he if would have to break down in front of fucking Technoblade, it'd be better than being stuck in here._

Dream just looks at him, eerily silent for a moment. "It doesn't matter Tommy. You're stuck in here. With me." 

Tommy recoils, throwing his arms out. "I don't WANT to be stuck with you, all I want is to GET. OUT." He screams in frustration, exceedingly getting more and more stressed every second that passes by. He's taken aback when Dream screams back in frustration.

"Well it doesn't FUCKING matter! When has it ever mattered huh?! What you want isn't always what you get Tommy. I thought you would know by now." 

And he's right. Usually, he would know better than that. Anything he's ever wanted to happen, either never did, or he had to sacrifice something to get it. The only thing that has so far is his hotel, and even then, he wasn't even the one doing it. 

"But if you insist, Let's get out together then! Then we can work it out. We can-"

Tommy's instant response is denial. So he tells him so. "Fuck. Off." 

"...Well then there's no way out." He says, as if implying that without his help, Tommy can't get out of here. He's _wrong._ Tommy WILL get out of here, he can't stay here for a fucking week. He _can't._

  
  


"Y-You're fucking with me. You did this, didn't you?! " he shouts, pointing at the man that stood in at the other side of the cell. The man, despite being in prison and unable to escape, still seems so intimidating. _Still seems to have power over Tommy._

Paranoina takes over his entire mind. For a long time, Tommy has been unable to trust anyone, or anything for long, before he'd inevitably be betrayed. Dream had pretended to be his friend. He had manipulated him. Had made him think he was his friend, isolated him from anything and anyone, breaking him slowly until he had nothing. 

_He's doing it again. He's gonna manipulate him all over again, he's gonna hurt him again, and Tommy can't, he can't-_

He had written the books. Did he plan this? Were the explosions his fault as well? Was this a plan to get him back? _To get his favorite toy back?_ But why? Why go to this length- Tommy doesn't understand. He doesn't understand but that doesn't matter, because Dream is trying to hurt him again, and Tommy won't let him.

  
  


He sees, hears Dream take a deep breath, in attempt to calm himself. Or, at least it appears so. Tommy knows the signs. He's learned how to avoid them (to avoid being hurt, beaten, _I'm sorry I'm sorry please don't hurt me_ -) in exile. When Dream inhaled like that, like he was exhasperated, that means he's about to lash out. 

  
  


And yet, like an absolute idiot, Tommy continue speaking, screaming, accusing him. "Of course you fucking did, this is your entire fault- everything goes wrong everytime you get involved-

"TOMMY!" An exhasperated yell. Anger in his tone. Tommy's mind flashed back to the time of his exile. His entire body flinches. Then freezes stiff. He immediately shuts his mouth on instinct, closing it with a click. He can't anger Dream. If he angers Dream, his _friend_ , then that meant he's disappoint him, and Tommy is already a disappointment, he can't lose the only friend he has anymore, he needs to be good. To be quiet. _Shut your fucking mouth Tommy._

  
  


....wait. no. Nononono. He's- He's not in exile. He's fine. (Is he?) He's safe. (He's anything but.) Dream doesn't have any power over him. (In a tiny room, with no way to get away from each other, vulnerable- how does he have any power?) Not anymore. (Nightmares, hallucinations, flashbacks plagues his mind. _Has he ever been free in the first place?_ )

No. He can't go back to that mindset. He's not forced to stay quiet. Nothing is keeping him from speaking.

_So why can't he bring himself to speak?_

  
  


"Tommy, I'm not the one who did this. How would I even do it, I've been stuck in prison this entire time!" And maybe that would make sense to anyone else. But not Tommy. Not TommyInnit. He knows Dream. No matter how much he hates it, he knows Dream. 

He's angry. He's angry, _furious_ at Dream, for trying to ruin his life, _again and again_ , even after he's been put in prison. For trying to control him again, for trying to make him his toy. ~~Again~~. He won't fucking let him. "No. no. This doesn't just- happen. You don't- I don't enter here and as soon as I do, explosions go off, this isn't how you operate." He stalks towards Dream, fingers itching to sock him in the face, rip off his fucking mask so he can break his nose better. 

He continues to get closer to Dream, voice getting louder as he does."I know you alright? I haven't spent weeks in exile with you for nothing, I know how you work. Everyone thinks they know you-"

Dream tries to interrupt him, "Tommy, I've changed" but that only fuels his anger even more. He continues, speaking over the other. 

"NO!" He screams at the top of his lungs, leaving the silence after he does, almost suffocating. He's gripping his fists so hard with his nails he's certain they're bleeding. "NO. Everyone talks about how you've changed, how they feel sorry for you- 'OoOh it wouldn't be so bad if you let him out'- _SHUT UP._ I know you. You haven't changed, you're the fucking monster of this server. You're still trying to manipulate me. And I know you're behind this." He finishes, shaking in anger. Dream is just looking at him, silently judging him, his every move, as usual. 

He can't fucking do this. The silence and the closeness of the walls are getting to him. _Dream_ is getting to him. He needs to get out, _now._ He mumbles to himself, "...I can't be in here-" 

"Tommy, I've changed! I'm trying to change." 

But the blond isn't listening anymore. Instead, he'd favored going back to frantically typing on his communicator, begging for Sam to LET. _HIM._ **_OUT._ **

_____________________________________

**TommyInnit**

_SAM SEIROUSLY_

_YOU CANT ELET ME STAY WITH THIS PSYCOPATH_

_PLEAS EIM BEGING YOU LET ME OUT_

_HES GONfdqfFsvsn/_

_____________________________________

He's still typing when he feels his arm being ripped away from his communivator, which drops on the ground immediately. He tries to desperately fight back, even as his arms are shaking from the sheer panic he's feeling, but when his vision unfocuses from the fallen communicator, he sees that it's Dream who'd grabbed his arm. Dream is grabbing his arm. _Dream is touching him._ He feels himself immediately disconnect from reality. But the slam of his back again the wall forces him back into it, and the way his head painfully collides with the hard surface of obsidian. 

~~_Don't resist don't resist don't fight back be good to your friend your friend is so nice and you should be grateful someone is still left that loves you, because everyone else hates you you're so worthless worthless why are you even alive- because Dream wants you alive, "It's not your time die" he said, and you better be a good friend by honoring his wishes, and if being a good friend means letting yourself be manipulated and beaten then THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO._ ~~

Holding his arms against the wall, Dream forces Tommy to look at him straight in the eyes. He can't even utter a single word, knowing what resistance entails. " _Tommy_. It's not going to work. Sam is dealing with whatever that explosion was. And even if he was here, I doubt he'd let you out until this security issue is resolved. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Silence. Tommy looks at Dream, with an open expression of fear. 

Then, carefully, cautiously, Dream backs away from the blond. And retakes his place at the back of the cell, leaving Tommy to stare at nothing. 

  
  


What… just happened? Did he- what the hell was that. It was like… like he was… ~~back in exile.~~

No. No, Tommy won't accept it. _Can't_ accept it. He _refuses_ to accept it. He walks closer to the frame that stands chest filled with books, still feeling disoriented from what just happened. 

"No. No- the reason I'm here- Is to-" he stutters, gulping heavily. "-see you one final time. 'Cause I cant stand being in your presence- 'cause you fuckin'- ruin things." He says. That was the goal. That _was_ the goal. Now he just wants to get the fuck away from the monster that's in this cell with him. 

Dream just shakes his head in disappointment. He hates how shitty it makes him feel. _His opinion doesn't matter. He doesn't control Tommy._ ~~That's what he tries to convince himself anyway.~~

"You're stuck in here. With me. And we can bond. We can talk. Just like old times. Stuck together. Y'know? Just like exile?" Tommy's vision fills with _red._ The mother _fucker-_ "Nothing better, right?" 

Tommy sprints towards Dream, and socks him in the face, the hardest he fucking could. He hears the impact of his fist against the mask, hear it crack ever so slightly. Breathing heavy, he snarls at the other. "Don't you _ever_ fucking mention exile to me." 

How dare he. How fucking _dare_ he act as if- as if exile had been nothing but a joyful walk in the park. _How dare he._

He takes a few deep breaths. This is why being stuck in a room is bad for Tommy. Dream makes him act like- like an… an animal. He makes him a bad person. And he hates himself for it. The further he is from him, the better. 

Dream doesn't say anything for a moment. Doesn't react to what just happened. Instead, after a few moments of heavy breathing and silence, he just says, "You only have 1 life left, so... You die in here…" he trails off, as they both stare at the lava at the entrance of the cell. "Then you die. For good."

  
  


Tommy stares at the lava. Memories of the past flash across his eyes. Words echo within his mind. 

_"It's not your time to die."_

_"...It's never my time to die."_

"...I know." He murmurs, both answering to the past and present Dream. 

Dream claps his hands together, seemingly happy Tommy agreed. "Great! Then let's get along! Let's not hit each other… scream at each other-" 

And Tommy cannot take another word that comes out of this snake's mouth. He screams in frustration. "I swear to g-" 

"I've wanted company for so long!" Dream interrupts, voice gleeful a tinge of insanity could be heard in it.

Tommy is nearing a breakdown. He can't take this- every word Dream utters breaks the barriers Tommy has so carefully put around his own mind. He feels like he's breaking, and it's not good. No good no good. "I will not be your FUCKING company- I want _nothing_ to do with you- No. No no no. let me out, _let me oUT_ -"

"Tommy this is the best thing that's happened in so long." Dream says, chuckling lightly as if Tommy isn't currently having a _complete meltdown-_ god he can't take this. 

He grips his hair tightly, feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed by this situation. Why did he think this was a good idea, this turned into an absolute disaster. What did he expect, for this visit to go smoothly? God. If only. _Nothing ever goes well for Tommy._

He screams at the top of his lungs, hoping to drown out the voice of Dream, Dream _who's been so nice to him why is he acting like a brat-_ **_FUCK._ ** " _NO-_ ! THIS ISN'T THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED- YOU'RE THE WORST THING THAT'S HAPPENED NOT ONLY TO ME, BUT THIS SERVER. Let me out- _God let me out let me out._ **_LET ME OUT_ ** !!" He bangs on the walls near him, desperately hoping to get out of this prison, of this cell, _get out get out GET OUT-_

"Since I entered the prison, this is the best thing that's-" Dream tries talking over him, tries taking control back of the situation, but Tommy won't let him, he won't he _won't-_

"Stop talking- stop talking. _Stop talking_ ." He's rocking back and forth now, unaware of the action he's unconsciously doing, unaware of anything else other than _panic and_ **_the walls are so close-_ **

"- And now, we can be company! We can stay in here together!" He's laughing, laughing at him, laughing in joy, _laughing at his misery-_

This is a nightmare. **_This is an absolute fucking nightmare._ **

  
  


He needs to get away. He needs to get away _now._

An explosion rings again. It immediately stops any and all conversation (if you could even call it that) that could have happened. 

For the next few minutes, they stay silent. Tommy, tries to calm the absolute chaos that was his own mind, and finally manages to think coherent thoughts once again. Dream just stands in his corner, either observing Tommy, or simply watching the water, or "tears" drop from the crying obsidian.

Tommy scoffs to himself. This is such a mess. 

  
  


He suddenly hears footsteps. Footsteps he knows are Dream's. He hears said footsteps get closer to him. The sound of a chest being opened. The wrinkling sound of pages. And he sees two legs stop in front of him.

Dream gently pushes a book into his hands, with the suggestion that if he's going to be here for a few days at least, then he'd best have something to not bore himself. (To not go insane, goes unsaid. But it's heard loud and clear.)

"Write a story, you can work on- how to sex 9 or something."

  
  


Tommy's vision goes red with both rage, and fear. At the fact that Dream is _touching him, and all he touches burns up in flames, he ruins everything, just like HE'D RUINED TOMMY-_ He rips the book given to him to pieces. Then, in a fit of rage, he throws the book into the lava, watching it burn slowly into the molten liquid. Tommy feels no satisfaction watching it sink slowly, going up in flames. He just feels exhausted.

  
  


He hears a voice speak from behind, a fake tone of casuality, subdued and quiet. "You're not getting another one you know. I'm not letting you burn the only things that keep me entertained." And Tommy couldn't give any less of a shit about his fucking books. All he wants is to get out. To _get away from this monster_. Is that too much to ask? Is it really too much to ask, to have a break from the pain, the suffering, the manipulation, to finally have a closure- to be happy for once in his life?! 

He burned with anger. He burned the book. He'd been burned by Dream's touch. The anger burns. And it fizzles out quickly. What else could he do, after all? Being angry isn't going to get him out from this hell. The emotional unstability, is probably going to make him even more vulnerable to Dream's manipulation.

  
  
  


This is so much worse than exile.

  
  
  


Dream speaks up from behind him, seemingly unimpressed by Tommy's anger. "...Are you done now?" And Tommy _despises_ him from the very bottom of his soul, he hates him so much. (So why does it still hurt knowing he's disappointed him? He still doesn't know. ~~Truly, what a disappointment he is~~.)

Dream crosses his arm, looking at Tommy in mock disappointment. "Nothing's changed you know. No matter how many tantrums you throw, no matter _what_ you do, the situation will not change. You're still stuck here, with me. And it's gonna be like that for a few days." 

Tears of frustration fill Tommy's vision. He spits out of rage, a rage he'd almost forgotten after so long being _empty-_ "Fuck off. You ruined- you ruined _everything._ You've not changed at all. You're the same, manipulative _fuck_ who enjoys ruining the life of others."

Dream sighs. "Tommy, you're exaggerating. Just like exile. It's honestly not that bad. We can bond together! This can be _fun_." He says, throwing his arms out slightly to exaggerate his words. As if everything was all fine. 

Tommy grips his hair again, trying to ground himself, to get his shit together. Don't listen to him, he tells himself. _Don't listen to his bullshit_ . No matter how much it sounds like he's right. "This is so dumb. I don't wanna _bond_ , I want to go _home._ This is so stupid." 

He heard the warning signs. He sees them. He hears Dream take a deep breath, an attempt to calm himself down. The calm before the storm. 

He ignores them. He's done being scared of Dream. He's _done_ \- 

" _TOMMY!"_ Dream screams at his name, throwing himself off the wall he'd been leaning on, and Tommy immediately flinches, tensing in instinct, waiting for the pain to hit. He says nothing. _He knows not to say anything._ Be quiet and listen to your friend. " _YOU'RE_ BEING DUMB. YOU'RE STUCK IN HERE WITH ME WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR _NOT_ ." He orders, stalking towards the teen, cornering in a cage he knows is inescapable. He can't run. _He can't run._

Dream point a finger to the other's chest, posture authoritative and _demanding_ obedience. "You are going to be in here with me, for a while. And we're gonna talk." 

Tommy shakes his head in denial, taking a few steps backwards, an attempt to distance himself from him. "N-No-" his breathing is irregular. Speeding up. 

"We're gonna have lots of fun!-" The other insists, almost refusing to hear otherwise. The eerie smile of his mask makes him sound even more unhinged than usual. _What isolation does to you huh-_

The walls are closing on him. Dream is closing on him. No- no no no. _He needs to run. Run before he can hurt him-_ "That wasn't- the plan-" he tries to speak, desperately trying to _get AWAY FROM HIM-_

"-Lots of fun!" The other says, almost giggling in glee. Tommy doesn't wanna have fun. Fun entails manipulation, speaking to each other, being in each other's presence, being _close to each other, having fun means being hurt and beaten and brainwashed into thinking no one loves him, Dream is is only friend, and to be free would equal-_

No. No no no- Tommy can't do this. He exclaims over Dream, "THE PLAN WAS TO GET OUT-" but the other just won't _shut_ **_UP-_ **

Dream giggles, and cackles, and almost screams in meniechal glee. "DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD FUN TOGETHER? I do! We can have lots of fun here for a whooole week! Me and you! Back to back. Again! Just like old time sake. Alright." By the time he's finished, his tone was slightly less unhinged, and more calm and casual, his body language softening once he'd looked at Tommy. 

Tommy, who had backed up into a corner, shaking in fear. Eyes wide in terror, glazed over like he was seeing something else entirely. Perhaps not too far from the truth. 

Dream backs away slightly from the other, choosing to stand next to hole filled with water. His next words are spoken with a soothing tone. "Tommy, look. You're stuck with me now. And I've changed. Don't worry, this will be better than exile."

_Changed._ What a load of bullshit. After screaming like a banshee with the laughter of someone who had completely lost their sanity, Dream still insists on 'having changed'? Unbelievable. 

Tommy still won't answer. He can't take the risk. Today had already been way too much for him. He couldn't take any more than that. So they sit in silence, both observing the other, slowly calming down. The silence is suffocating, but it's better than the words of poison the man was speaking.

  
  


Then. Tommy's communicator, which had been forgotten in the chaos, pings with a notification. The blond's eyes widen. _Sam. SAM. SAM HAD ANSWERED-_

He practically throws himself across the floor getting the object, a new torch of hope being lit in his own chest. 

_____________________________________

**Awesamdude**

_You're gonna have to hang tight Tommy. The prison is on lockdown. There has been a security issue._

_____________________________________

  
  


Tommy's heart freezes in his chest. His body is washed over by a bucket of cold ice. Everything is spinning. It doesn't feel real. It's not real. _There's no way… right?_

Just like that. There's no more hope. 

No…. _No. No. No no no no- please no don't let him stay here, in this tiny room, with fucking Dream worst of all, he CAN'T stay in here, he's already losing his mind, please please,_ **_let him out of here..._ **

But he doesn't answer back. He knows. He knows… Sam's not coming back for him. Not until the explosion problem is solved. 

And finally, after so long, denying what was inevitable… Tommy realises. He finally accepts the truth. _He's stuck here. He's going to have to stay here for at least… a least a few days. A week at most._

...He's stuck with Dream in a cell. And it's going to stay like that for god knows how many hours, how many _days._

...Fuck.

Tears fill his vision. 

_Fuck._

He walks over to the entrance of the cell, and falls to his knees. 

**_Fuck._ **

Tommy sobs. He sobs his heart out. It doesn't matter if he screams at the top of his lungs, it doesn't even matter if Dream is there or not. No one else but the two of them can hear it anyway. 

Tommy is stuck here. _In a prison. With Dream._

  
  
  


...He doesn't know how much time passes until he has no more tears to spill, no more anger to fuel him, no more voice to scream, no more hopes to keep him going, and no more hopes to be broken.

He feels empty. 

(Perhaps if he had a mirror, Tommy would have seen the way his eyes dulled, no longer the baby blue he had gained back when he escaped exile, but now a mix of grey and pale blue. Or if he had looked behind him, and if Dream wasn't wearing a mask, he would have seen the ever-growing smile on the older's face. He doesn't.)

Tommy looks at Dream. Dream, who had been looking at him, at his desperate attempt to get any help, to get out of an inescapable prison with silence. At his heart-wrenching screams, never uttering a single word. No words of mockery, pity, fake comfort. Nothing. He let Tommy fight, struggle and scream until he finally gave up. 

He feels empty. Drained. The tears of despair that had been rolling down his cheeks for what feels like forever had long since dried. He feels like everything, in a single moment, had been ripped away from him. 

Bitterness fills him. He looks at Dream, at his abuser, his nightmare personified, at his enemy. The way his body language is so casual, but he knows Dream is just observing him. Calculating. Always watching. (Just like he'd been when he was in exile.)

He'd probably planned this, hadn't he. Of course he did. What had he said again? That he was, "Always three steps ahead"? 

(Of course the fucker had planned this. From the moment he'd stepped into the prison, he had already lost.)

  
  


Tommy feels empty. So with a quiet, almost subdued tone, he murmurs, "...Do you have any potatoes?"

(He's lost.)

And to think he had said "You lost" to the face of this man. The irony of it all. 

...He quietly munches on the cold, uncooked potatoes Dream hands him over. Not a single word passes between the both of them, for what feels like forever. 

  
  


"...Why?" He asks to no one. Why, did this have to happen? He was about to be done. _He was about to be done._ He was about to get out of here, finally get over his P to the S to the D, and then be happy in his life. A life without Dream. 

_So why?_

Tears of frustration slowly roll down his face, a crestfallen expression painted on a canvas of misery, as he looks at the ground. He doesn't care to hide them, already knowing that showing pride would either make him angry, or just enable him more to torture him. Either way, there's no point in hiding them. 

And wow, look at him go, already going back to the mindset of taking Dream's opinion in literally anything he does. But what else could he do? No matter how much he may act otherwise, no matter how much he doesn't want to admit it… He's scared of Dream. Rightfully so. And when you're stuck in a tiny cage with no exit other than death and ~~while Tommy might welcome death, this isn't the way he wants it to go~~ , what else could he do but adapt and go back to the same mindset he had ~~been conditioned~~ developed to stay alive- to survive? 

Would pride be useful here? He could fight back but what would it do except hurt him in the end? Here, Dream has the power to manipulate him all over again, and this time, there's nothing and no one who can stop him. 

...No. He may not be able to completely fight back and win, but he will not let the other get to him. He will not let the other win easily. He'll struggle until he has nothing left. 

He hears footsteps get closer. He doesn't bother to look up. He knows who it is. Who else could it be? Other than hallucinations that is. 

Before he can realise what's happening, he's wrapped in a warm embrace. Two strong arms wrap around him, almost a comforting presence washing all of his worries away. He leans into it for a single moment. 

Then he realises what's happening. Dream is hugging him. _Dream_ is _hugging_ him. He jerks away, unwilling to let the other do as he pleases for a single second more. He crawls back towards the lava, getting as close as he can without getting completely burned. The painful heat is almost comforting. (He had feared ever looking back at the lava in such a way. Now it doesn't feel like it matters anymore.)

He hates that for a moment, for a single second, Tommy had felt comforted. _Safe._ This is anything _but_ safe. He knows it. So why...

(He had already broken, not even an hour with him. Can he handle 7 days?)

He knows Dream smiles. 

(The answer is simple.)

"Let's get along well then, Tommy. I'm sure we'll become _fast friends_."

(Tommy's already lost.)

Dream's won.

  
  


And Tommy… 

Tommy can't do this. (The walls close in on him.) He can't. (His ribcage traps his lungs tight.) He can't. (His breathing speeds up.) He can't. (His vision blurs.) Please let him out. (He's almost certain he hears Dream laugh.) He can't be here. (Is that Wilbur's laugh he hears?) He can't. (Or perhaps that's Tubbo's.) He has to get out of here- (In an inescapable prison, with his abuser.) He can't be here. (What could be worse?) He can't. (He feels weak. Vulnerable.) He can't. He can't, he can't he can't he _can't he can't he can't he can't_ **_he can't he can' HE CAN'T DON'T LET HIM STAY IN HERE PLEASE GOD LET HIMOUTLETHIMOUTLETHIMOUT-_ **

And then everything goes dark.

**Author's Note:**

> A pair of crimson red and toxic green eyes snap open. A hybrid, gasping for air. He looks around, confused, as to where exactly he is. He seems to be… in a snow biome? Perhaps he's near Technoblade's base then. Or maybe he's so far away this is a completely new biome? Ranboo doesn't recognise his surroundings at all. 
> 
> As he moves his hands to bring his memory book, hoping it would have some answers, a sharp pain rings through them. Hissing sharply, he looks down, to see that his hands… are bleeding? He can also see faint traces of a grey power sparkled over his hands and wounds. 
> 
> What… had happened, he wonders. But as usual, he's unable to remember. Looking at his memory book is useless as well, as it appears he had not written down what he's been doing before-hand. 
> 
> "This enderwalk thing is really getting out of control…" he murmurs. But what could he do about it? He knows next to nothing about his said enderwalk, and his memory issues are not helpful to this problem either. So, doing the same as with all his problems related to his endermen heritage, and his memory issues… He just shrugs it off.
> 
> And soon, he would forget this even happened at all. He would go out on his day, blissfully unaware of what he'd done. 
> 
> Unaware of the catastrophy he had just unleashed. Truly, two puppets to be used in war. 
> 
> Not free yet, it seems. Perhaps they would never be. 
> 
> :)


End file.
